The Threat Of Narco Terrorism In The United Kingdom

In the last decades, narco trafficking and organized crime had emerged as the main security threats in Latin America. Deviant globalization increase their power by establishing connections with similar organizations in other parts of the world, like cocaine distribution networks, for example. This perceived danger increases the pressure on the governments for effective solutions, and some of them consider that these problems had overwhelmed the capabilities of the local police. Consequently, the intervention of military forces would be necessary to secure the stability of the countries. However, the use of force as the only solution is the outcome of a misunderstanding of the root causes that generates them. This paper presents the research for a general pattern in the region that is helpful to understand how the civil society perceives the failures of governance and how the networks of illegal activities exploit this perception.

Drugs. They have entered our communities, our schools, our neighborhoods, our homes. For generations now they have been affecting our society; influencing politics, laws, wars, science, and the overall structure of society. Russia and Mexico have had some of the highest involvement in drugs, and the fight against them. In Russia almost 6 percent of the total population, which is about 8.5 million people are drug addicts, or regular users. Russia has also become increasingly involved in the trafficking of drugs. In comparison Mexico has been one of the largest marketplaces for drugs, and has been a major producer and exporter of marijuana and heroine. In order to further better their countries, Russia and Mexico have implemented certain policies to restrict, outlaw, or limit drugs and the trafficking of them. This paper is going to compare Russia’s and Mexico’s policies on drugs, it will explore the history and background of both countries policies, the effectiveness of each of the countries policies, and will compare the two countries policies. In this comparison we will discover which country if any has had a more effective policy on drugs.

In our reading of Illicit by Naim (2005), he suggests that the asymmetrical relationship between the government and transnational crime groups create a struggle for the government to respond to these transnational crimes at a decent rate (Naim,2005). On the other side our reading in McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld by Glenny (2009), suggest otherwise. Glenny (2009) suggests that of a relationship between transnational crime groups, the public, the government and this is a huge aspect to how the government responds to these factors. Both perspectives contain their strengths and weaknesses, however the dependency theory by Glenny has more valid points than that of the asymmetrical theory by Naim.

The United States have declared that it is doing its best to combat the war on drugs. The drug problem has not stopped and the people continue to buy drugs no matter what circumstances they are obtained. With drugs prices rising, people are willing do anything to get drugs even if it leads them to become involved in criminal activities such as robbery. The money and military activity have not been enough, and the “urban problem,” has not been resolved. The United States has the largest demand of drugs in the world. While other countries also face the drug problem, the United States has spent the most money and law enforcement; however, its effectiveness is questionable. Consequently, now there is a great amount of drugs coming from Mexico’s borderline into the United States. The drug cartels have become more violent, killing Mexican officers and innocent people in order to smuggle their drugs. The United States needs more security control and better coordination between agencies to fight the violent Mexican drug war spilling across the southern border. There is not enough organization between the D.E.A and other groups such as the Department of Homeland Security. The United States has little hope of winning the war unless enough protection on the border and Border States are developed. The agencies need better coordination between the federal, state and locals agencies in order to prevent more drugs to cross

The border patrol has been a major problem for many decades concerning illicit drugs entering into the United States (Levinthal, 2012). Controlling the importation of illicit drugs is not an easy task. Statistics confirm the combined United States border stretches approximately 7,000 miles (Levinthal, 2012). The amount of government officials needed to monitor the importation of illicit drugs is unimaginable. Moreover, the government has designated four agencies to reduce the interdiction of drugs entering into United States territory. The four agencies for reducing illicit drug control in the United States, includes (1) DEA, (2) the U.S. Customs & Border Protection Agency, (3) the U.S. Coast Guard, and (4) the U.S. military (Levinthal, 2012).

Terrorism, while difficult to define, still has a few key features that are mostly agreed upon. These features will be explored in depth through a discussion of the definition. Following the definition of terrorism, the paper will examine the cartels in Mexico. Their history, their goals, and their strategies will all be important for determining whether they should fall under the umbrella of terrorism. Finally, this paper will argue that the cartels in Mexico display the characteristics of terror and terrorist organizations and they should be considered and classified

Multinational character of drug trade requires law enforcement being close to the source of the drug production. Given that many local governments in drug producing countries are weak and lack resources, an outside power, like DEA is necessary to train local law enforcement, cooperate with them, and provide intelligence to address the problem. Moreover, expansive character of drug trafficking networks and the traffickers opening new routes to accommodate new markets might complicate interception of the drugs as they leave the country of production. Therefore, DEA’s operations might have more success being in such countries and try to intercept the drugs before they leave their countries of

For many years the United States has made an effort to restrict the importation of drugs. The United States has developed activities related to drug trafficking. To stop the importation of drugs, the Department of Homeland Security has gathered an estimate of $2 billion, or as Hart and Ksir (2015) states, 20 percent of its overall budget for drug control. Although there have been drug smugglers who continue to success in becoming uneducated by law enforcement, the United States is doing more to enforce drug laws and stop from importing drugs. The United States has used Air Force radicand aircraft and Navy patrol boats to detect and track aircraft and boats that might smuggle drugs into the country (Hart & Ksir, 2015).

The “War on Drugs” has been a hot topic for several decades in the United States. The argument for the success of this campaign usually varies depending on one’s political affiliation. The government handled the ongoing campaign differently with each new administration taking command, most of them having no little success. The fact of the matter is that the ideal of a “drug free civilization” is far from reality. The world is coming to terms that the various drug-fighting programs across the world are not producing the desired results. In fact, UN Office on Drugs and Crime doesn’t publicly aspire to reach a drug-free world. That wishful scenario seems very close to impossible at this moment. The office biggest claim to fame is that that the international drug markets have stabilized, which is not very optimistic.

Despite the great investments in the War on Drugs, such efforts can be seen to be causing more harm than good. These attempts have further failed to meet its objectives, given that the drug menace continues to persist. The efforts are characterized by federal and local law enforcement agencies constantly engaged in implementation activities such as cracking down on traffickers, dealers and users of the drugs, in the endeavor to stem the movement of the narcotics.

The American War on Drugs has aimed to abolish drug abuse through tough laws and punitive enforcement within and beyond United States’ borders. Although the term was only coined in 1971, it seems as though the War on Drugs is failing more miserably than ever before. Global consumption of opiates, cocaine, and marijuana has increased by 35 percent, 27 percent, and 9 percent between 1998 and 2008, according to the United Nations. This suggests that the global supply of illegal drugs is increasing while the drugs themselves become cheaper, fixed, and abundant. (Schlosser, 1994)

dominating the drug industry are the Latin American and majority of Asian, specifically cocaine and heroin production. Global organised crime is evolving and embracing new markets and technologies; moving from the traditional hierarchies towards a more flexible, network based construct of organisation. To a certain extent, the legitimate world is a victim of its own accomplishment; the globalisation of the legal economy has globalised the underworld. This has provided the demands of numerous illicit services, and an improvement of policing ironically forcing criminals to become more organised to continue. The international organised crime groups that are working together and with an effect, dividing the globe amongst them. There is sufficient

Alongside the need or want for drugs, a market is available to move, buy, and sell drugs usually run by small groups of individuals. There have been certain key players in regards to nations that have provided an environment for this market of cultivation and production of substances and trafficking. Often it is due to a lack of a strong government and a weak economy, pushing otherwise hard working, honest people to make a living by other means. Despite Colombia’s relatively strong economy and stable government, the following introduction of coca from Peru and Bolivia took hold. Colombia became one nation that largely contributed to cocaine and heroin trafficking. A country that initially produced and exported small amounts of cocaine in the early 1970’s now has a major role throughout the world.5

Drug trafficking has become an increasingly growing problem in the world today. Illegal drug trade is a worldwide black market consisting of production, distribution, packaging, and sale of illegal substances. Although today’s "War on Drugs" is a modern phenomenon, drug problems have been a common problem throughout history. The market for illegal drugs is massive, when we consider the estimated global drug trade value is worth $321 billion (Vulliamy). The most drug trafficking happens on the border between Mexico and the United States. Former Mexican President Felipe Calderon said, “Our neighbor is the largest consumer of drugs in the world. And everybody wants to sell him drugs through our door and our window”

The drug problem in the U.S. and around the world is an important issue and seems to be a difficult problem to tackle across the board. The inflow of drugs has become one of the largest growths in transnational crime operations; illicit drug use in the United States makes it very difficult for nation states police and customs forces to get a handle on the issues. War on drugs, drug trafficking has long been an issue for the United States. There has been a proclamation of “war on drugs” for the past 44 years.